


Cherry

by WishaDream



Series: Control Shorts [16]
Category: Control (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, spoilers for main game and dlcs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-26 08:48:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30103365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WishaDream/pseuds/WishaDream
Summary: On her usual morning commute, Emily encounters a red head that awakens a longing in her she's never felt before.
Relationships: Jesse Faden/Emily Pope
Series: Control Shorts [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2119476
Kudos: 10





	Cherry

Emily stepped into the subway car, joining the morning crowd as they made the commute to their various jobs.

Her mind was elsewhere, working out her current science problem that she would be working on as soon as she reached the office.

A flash of red drifted across her vision, drawing her eyes and mind to the train car’s contents.

On a bench along the opposite wall sat a woman with dazzling red hair. She sat with one leg resting atop the other; knee bobbing in the air as she took up so much space the guy beside her looked annoyed. While Emily was squished into her seat, this woman had a strong presence that would not let anyone squeeze her in.

Looking up, as if she’d heard something, the woman spotted an old lady. Standing up, she motioned to her seat. As the old lady took the spot the man started to spread out. The red head’s foot slid out, stopping his foot, like a doorstop, keeping him from spreading as she looked off to the side with a casual look like she didn’t even notice what she was doing.

The man let out a huff before getting up and heading off down the train car.

With his seat vacated the red head sat down, not taking more space than she needed so the old lady wasn’t squished.

Emily smiled to herself. When she looked up again the red head was watching her, a smile on her face like she was telling Emily “hope you liked the show.”

Emily’s face flushed as she looked away.

Even after the car had reached her destination she felt her pulse pounding in her chest as she played the image of the woman over and again in her mind. The relaxed way she’d sat. The soft curl of her lips as she’d grinned at Emily. The spark in her eyes like lightning in a bottle.

No matter how much she would have liked things to stay the same—from that moment on everything would change.

___

Emily let her mind fill with work for the rest of the day. By the end she’d completely forgotten the red head with the soft smile.

When she got home Dr. Kirk Andros was in the kitchen whipping up dinner. He smiled as Emily entered the room, intercepting her as he planted a soft kiss on her cheek.

“How was work?”

Changing out of her work clothes, Emily caught him up on her work, pausing whenever he came up with a suggestion for how she could solve the various problems she’d encountered throughout her day.

“I did try that, but it didn’t work.”

It was all shop talk as they ate their meal together. At the end they sat on the couch together, she read a book, he answered emails.

Dating Dr. Andros had a comfortable complacence. They both enjoyed the same things, both working in the field of science. At times it almost felt like dating herself.

Both were more focused on work than anything else. There were times when she didn’t even see Dr. Andros for days when she ended up staying at the office to complete a problem.

When she came back he’d greet her with an easy smile and a hot meal. It was relaxed. Easy. A routine that they had both become used to. Something she found comfort in, like a quadratic equation. It never changed.

As she turned the page of her book her mind went back to the red head on the train. Back to the feeling that had overtaken her when the woman had smiled.

Even though she was satisfied with her life, with that one smile she realized she was living a lie.

  


Emily had always been a good daughter. Had always done what her parents had told her. Had gone to college where they had wanted, had studied the subjects they’d advised. But then something had changed in her. After graduation she had taken a government job instead of taking the position at the research company her parents had set up for her.

This angered her parents who cut off contact with her for several years. Then she’d met Dr. Andros who had been a consultant for her agency.

The two had worked well together and when he’d asked her out she’d accepted the offer. They got along well; something she told herself was enough for her. He was a good guy. He helped her reconnect with her parents, who adored Kirk like he was their long lost son.

But as she lay in bed that night she felt that familiar tug. That longing to shake things up. To change things. It was the same feeling that had come over her when she’d taken the government job. When she’d decided to be someone more than the “good daughter.”

Back then she’d just wanted to know what it would feel like to do something else, to be someone other than who her parents had wanted.

This time she pictured the red head and her smile. The way her smile had curled. The pale pink of her lips.

Now she wanted to know what it would feel like to…

As Dr. Andros wrapped his arms around her she found herself wishing for someone else.

___

It was Tuesday and she found herself searching the crowd for that red hair. Her mind told her to stop, that it was cheating, but her heart told her it was something else.

It was so unlike her to hold onto feelings, but just the one glimpse of the woman’s smile had made her feel more alive than she ever had.

There, across the platform she spotted her. A moment later the subway car arrived, cutting off her view of her.

As she filed onto the car she found herself on one end with the red head on the other end

As she snuck a look in her direction she found the red head watching her as she took a seat. The woman was standing, gripping one of the subway poles, the muscles in her forearm flexing as she adjusted her hold.

With one look Emily was back to being a teenager riding the subway, wishing for a different life. For different parents. Different hopes. Different dreams. Back then she’d hated herself. Hated the person she knew she was becoming. The person she would be if she kept living under her parents rule. But she was too afraid to go against them.

She’d learned young that nothing in life was guaranteed. Tomorrow her parents could decide she’d failed them too many times and leave her. Even now, as an adult, she knew Dr. Andros could get hit by a car on his way to work and she’d be left alone again.

Though time had passed, she was still that little girl longing for something more.

That day what she longed for was…

The red head smiled before Emily fixed her gaze on the tablet in her hands. 

____

Wednesday as she waited for the train she heard someone calling out a name. The voice came from across the platform. As she scanned the crowd she spotted the red head. She was turning to the name being called. Seeing her react, Emily tuned in as she caught the name on the wind, “Jesse.”

Her heart fluttered, before being stepped on as a young man ran up to the red head.

He looked out of breath as he presented her with a box. A lunch box. It looked like Jesse had forgotten her lunch and he had brought it for her.

Her heart ached as she realized the significance of this gesture.

_They are together._

Though she wanted to look away she couldn’t help, but watch as Jesse grabbed the young man, ruffling his hair as her smile crooked to the side.

The scene relaxed the muscles of her heart a she told herself their closeness resembled that of siblings as opposed to lovers.

“Wishful thinking,” was the chiding statement in her mind.

When the subway car arrived she got on.

Again she was on the left of the car as the red head—Jesse, stood on the right. Though she wished to move closer, to close the space between them, she held back.

She had always been the one to take the first step.

Towards her parents.

To her professors.

Even Dr. Andros. He asked her out but she had been the one who had called him a day later to set up the day and time fortheir date.

For once she wanted someone else to be brave and take a step towards her.

_Please. Come. Talk to me._

  


Her gaze must have been intense as she watched Jesse’s cheeks go red as she turned away, a shy smile on her lips as she reached up to tuck a lose strand of hair behind her ear.

The sight made Emily’s insides clench as she bit her lip and looked away.

At her stop she heard a voice calling out her name. As soon as her heart had alighted from the perch in her chest, it collided with a brick wall as she turned to find one of her coworkers jogging towards her.

It was one of the security workers, Simon Arish.

The man was smiling as Emily waited for him to catch up.

“Hello, Arish.”

“Hey.”

The two started walking together as they made their way up the subway stairs.

“Who was that red head you were making eyes at?”

Emily did her best to keep her expression even as she casually replied, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

His smile grew as he laughed, bumping shoulders with her as he said, “Oh, okay. I get it. Just one of those silent flirtations. I’ve had a few of those. There was this guy at a soccer game three rows down from me. Another time this girl at a grocery store kept circling back to the same aisle as me. I think she grabbed the same can of soup three times.”

Emily frowned as she assured him, “It’s not that. I have a boyfriend.”

“Right. Dr. Andros. You know,” he frowned thoughtfully as he said, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you just call him Kirk. It’s always Dr. Andros this and Dr. Andros that. Do you even have a pet name for him?”

Her lip curled at the idea, “Pet names are stupid.”

Contrary to her words, her mind considered what she might call Jesse, her cherry.

Arish shrugged, dropping the subject as he asked her about the problem she’d been working on the previous day.

“You come up with a solution?”

“Actually, yes. Dr. An—Kirk and I were discussing it last night. He thinks if I—.”

____

Thursday morning found Emily waking up alone.

The previous night she had said goodbye to Dr. Andros. They’d discussed their relationship and how it was best that things end.

“I care about you, but I feel like this has become more of a partnership than a relationship. I’m not even sure if it was really ever anything more than a “marriage of convenience.”

Though her parents would not be happy about the breakup, Emily did not care in the slightest about their feelings on the matter.

As she stood on the subway car, swaying in time with its movement, she wondered what she would do now.

“Hello, can I speak to…”

Emily turned around, her eyes going wide as she saw the red head standing in front of her.

_!!!_

“Oh, never mind.”

Just as quickly as she’d appeared she turned around, disappearing down the train car as she escaped through the door into another car.

It was progress, and as Emily smiled to herself, she decided that next time, she would be the one to say hello.

___

Jesse’s side

Jesse heard the blonde’s name on a Wednesday as a young man called to her.

_Emily._

It was a beautiful name. Fit her perfectly. The only problem was this guy was able to talk to her and Jesse couldn’t get up the courage to take a step closer to her on the same subway car.

Not that it mattered anymore, as she watched Emily walk away with the man. Her probably boyfriend.

At the end of the day, when she got on the subway after work, she saw the man again. This time he was with a man. The two were walking close together, intimately, as the young man leaned in to whisper something in the man’s ear before sneaking a kiss on his cheek.

Relief washed over Jesse as she realized Emily was still free. She still had a chance to make a move.

Now she just had to take it.

___

It was a Friday, the day after she’d chickened out halfway through her greeting.

She didn’t know what she would do if she saw the blonde again. Probably hide under one of the subway bench seats. It was the only course of action left after bombing so hard.

According to Dylan she needed to just “grow a spine” and approach the woman again. But how could she when she’d humiliated herself so much. It would have been better if she’d just waited another week before trying. But she’d been brash and approached her without a plan. Not that she was someone who planned. She was the type to leap into things feet first.

Sometimes it got her hurt. Sometimes it worked out.

That time it had left her with a metaphorical twisted ankle.

As she stood on the platform waiting for the train, part of her wished that she wouldn’t see the blonde. Not till she’d had time to recover. A larger part of her wanted to see her again as she found herself searching the crowd across the platform.

Her shoulders dropped when she didn’t see her. Usually she could always pick her out among the crowd, but after her fifth scan she realized she wasn’t there.

It seemed her wish had come true.

_I wish it hadn’t._

“Excuse me.”

Jesse heard a voice to her side. At first she ignored it, thinking it had to be addressing someone else. Anyone else. Not her.

A hand briefly touched her arm, getting her attention. As soon as she turned her heart stopped beating as she found herself looking into Emily’s eyes.

A soft smile was on her lips, her blue eyes sparkling as she said, “Hi. I hope it’s okay I came over here.”

She was actually there. Had thought to come across the street to stand on the same side as Jesse.

_Why didn’t I think of that?_

It would have made bumping into her so much easier.

When Jesse didn’t immediately respond to her words, the smile on Emily’s face faded into a concerned frown.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t…”

As she started to turn away Jesse found her voice as she called after her, “I’m Jesse.”

The smile returned as the woman turned back, “Emily.”

Pop music started to play in Jesse’s mind as the two stared at one another while something new started to bloom in their hearts.

**Author's Note:**

> Because I want to make it easier for you the reader, should I keep all the Control stories in a single collection, or should I separate them into separate collections: one for pining, one for dating, and one for marriage?


End file.
